Public Foundations
Public foundations are grantmaking public charities that gain their funds from a variety of sources, which may include foundations, individuals, corporations, or public entities. Public foundations may engage in fundraising, and may seek broad public financial support. They may or may not have endowments. There is no legal definition of a public foundation, but most dedicate a significant portion of their annual budgets to grantmaking. Most community foundations are also grantmaking public charities.
Since public foundations may be defined in different ways, and there is no official IRS or legal definition of public foundations, it is difficult to arrive at statistics that are fully representative of the field.
Below is everything on our site for public foundations. We strongly recommend that you use the navigation or our search feature to find what you're looking for on our site. Please also visit cof.org/programs-services/public-grantmaking-charities for curated public foundation content.
Sample Matching Gift Policy
Sample Document
This sample matching gift policy can be easily customized for your foundation's use.
Leadership Insights: What Foundation Executives and Trustees are Saying About Diversity and Inclusion
Recording
A video series featuring leaders sharing their insights about their organizational journey to become more diverse and inclusive and lessons learned along the way. All videos are close captioned.
Dr. Robert K. Ross
The California Endowment
Watch video
Dr. Risa…
The Sustainability Formula: How Nonprofit Organizations Can Thrive in the Emerging Economy
External Resource
From TCC Group, which developed the Core Capacity Assessment tool, this resource investigates how organizations can put these core capacities to work in achieving organizational sustainability in difficult economic times.
Building Community Capacity for Participation in Evaluation
External Resource
From Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO), what does it mean to truly and authentically engage a community in evaluation? Grantmakers working on place-based grantmaking already have the incentive and drive to support in-depth evaluation, to understand the impact of the initiative, and to…
Working Better Together: Building Nonprofit Collaborative Capacity
External Resource
Collective action is an effective way for nonprofits to increase their impact, but they often lack the key capacities that enable these types of partnerships to thrive. This publication from Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) offers insights on the core capacities nonprofits need to…
Sample Decline Letter
Sample Document
This sample declination letter can help you inform grant applicants that their grant proposal was not accepted.
Sample Grant Completion Report
Sample Document
This sample grant completion report may be customized and provided to your grantee partners.
Proposal Review Flowchart
Sample Document
This sample proposal review flowchart may be useful for establishing your foundation's processes for grant review.
Sample Grant Proposal Application Checklist
Sample Document
This sample grant proposal application checklist can be customized to your foundation's processes, allowing you to check off each step of the grant application process.
Sample Proposal Acknowledgment Letter
Sample Document
This sample grant proposal acknowledgment letter will allow you to let prospective grantees know that their application has been received.
Sample Post-Grant Self-Evaluation
Sample Document
This sample post-grant evaluation can be customized to your foundation and provided to your grantees to submit at the conclusion of their grant.
Sample Grant Agreement – No Expenditure Responsibility
Sample Document
This document is an editable grant agreement for grants not requiring expenditure responsibility.
This sample document is being provided for informational purposes only and is not to be shared without the permission of the Council on Foundations. Use of the sample document does not create an…
Stories of Succession: Involvement is Mandatory
Stephanie Danforth Chafee’s ancestors trace their roots in Rhode Island back to the Mayflower. Her philanthropic heritage in the area is almost as deep and conservative.
Her mother was a leading supporter of the Parent Teachers Association, the Zoological Society and the Roger Williams Zoo. Her…
Sample Foundation Investment Policy
Sample Document
This document is an editable foundation investment policy template.
This sample document is being provided for informational purposes only and is not to be shared without the permission of the Council on Foundations. Use of the sample document does not create an attorney-client relationship, and…
Hiring An Archival Consultant
Legal Compliance Guidance
The services of a consultant may prove beneficial to an organization considering the creation of a records management or archival program.
From a consultation, those who oversee the records and archives project should derive a general sense of the existing historical record of the organization —…